System and method for network information mapping and displaying

ABSTRACT

This disclosure generally relate to a method and system for mapping network information. The present technology relates techniques that enable full-scale, dynamic network mapping of a network system. By collecting network and computing data using built-in sensors, the present technology can provide network information for system monitoring and maintenance. According to some embodiments, the present technology enables generating and displaying of network connections and data processing statistics related to numerous nodes in a network. The present technology provides useful insights and actionable knowledge for network monitoring, security, and maintenance, via intelligently summarizing and effectively displaying the complex network communications and processes of a network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 62/171,899, titled “System for Monitoring and Managing Datacenters” and filed at Jun. 5, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to computer networks. More specifically, certain embodiments of the technology relate to a method and system for mapping and displaying network information.

BACKGROUND

With the growing demand of clustered storage and computing, network information management has become an important aspect for modern datacenters. Network information includes computing and networking data related to numerous nodes in the network. Network information management includes mapping the network to reveal, for example, network connections and data processing statistics, which are useful for improving the system efficiency.

It remains a challenge to map dynamic network information for a large number of computing nodes. Even small datacenters could potentially implement hundreds or thousands of connected nodes. Further, realtime mapping is more difficult as various changes constantly happen to the network, e.g., adding or removing a security policy, modifying one or more endpoint groups.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, a more particular description of the principles briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific examples thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only examples of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the principles herein are described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a network information mapping system, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example a network information mapping system adopting a leaf-spine architecture, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a user interface of a network information mapping system, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates another example of a user interface of a network information mapping system, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a process for a network information mapping system, according to some embodiments;

FIG. 6 is another flow diagram illustrating an example of another process for a network information mapping system, according to some embodiments; and

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a computing platform of a computing device, according to some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of the present technology are discussed in detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other components and configurations may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present technology.

Overview

Aspects of the present technology relate to techniques that enable full-scale, dynamic network mapping of a network system. By collecting network and computing data using built-in sensors and enabling an intuitive summary of these data, the present technology can provide network information for system monitoring and maintenance.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method is provided. The method includes receiving aggregate network flow data using a plurality of sensors associated with a network, determining node attributes associated with a plurality of nodes of the network, the node attributes representing at least one portion of distinctive process data or distinctive network data, determining a priority order of the node attributes based at least on one of the distinctive process data and the distinctive network data, and displaying, on a user interface, the node attributes in the priority order.

According to some embodiments, the present technology can enable a system comprising: one or more processors, and memory including instructions that, upon being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to receive network flow data using a plurality of sensors associated with a network, determine node attributes associated with a plurality of nodes, the node attributes representing at least one portion of distinctive process data or distinctive network data, determine a respective similarity score for each of the plurality of nodes based on the node attributes, the respective similarity score indicating a similarity level among the plurality of nodes, and display the respective similarity score on the user interface.

In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions is provided, the instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations including, receive aggregate network flow data using a plurality of sensors associated with a network, determine node attributes associated with each of the plurality of nodes, the node attributes representing at least one portion of distinctive process data or distinctive network data, receive one or more adjustments to the aggregate network flow data, determine updated node attributes associated with each of the plurality of nodes, generate an updated priority order of node attributes based at least on updated distinctive process data and updated distinctive network data, and display, on a user interface, the updated node attributes in the updated priority order.

Although many of the examples herein are described with reference to the network information mapping and displaying, it should be understood that these are only examples and the present technology is not limited in this regard. Rather, any other network information applications may be realized. Additionally, even though the present disclosure uses a sensor as a data-collecting device, the present technology is applicable to other controller or device that is capable of review, record and report network communication data between various end groups.

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosed principles. The features and advantages of the disclosure can be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or can be learned by the practice of the principles set forth herein.

Detailed Description

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a network information mapping system 100, according to some embodiments. Network information mapping system 100 can include, for example, configuration/image imaginer 102, sensors 104, collectors 122, analytics module 124, attribute module 126 and presentation module 128. It should be appreciated that the system topology in FIG. 1 is an example, and any numbers of computing devices such as sensors, collectors, and network components may be included in the system of FIG. 1.

Configuration/image manager 102 can configure and manage sensors 104. For example, when a new virtual machine is instantiated or when an existing virtual machine is migrated, configuration/image manager 102 can provision and configure a new sensor on the virtual machine. According to some embodiments, configuration/image manager 102 can monitor the physical status or health of sensors 104. For example, configuration/image manager 102 might request status updates or initiate tests. According to some embodiments, configuration/image manager 102 also manages and provisions virtual machines.

According to some embodiments, configuration/image manager 102 can verify and validate sensors 104. For example, sensors 104 can be provisioned with a unique ID that is generated using a one-way hash function of its basic input/output system (BIOS) universally unique identifier (UUID) and a secret key stored on configuration and image manager 102. This unique ID can be a large number that is difficult for an imposter sensor to guess. According to some embodiments, configuration/image manager 102 can keep sensors 104 up to date by installing new versions of their software and applying patches. Configuration/image manager 102 can get these updates from a local source or automatically from a remote source via internet.

Sensors 104 can be associated with each node and component of a data center (e.g., virtual machine, hypervisor, slice, blade, switch, router, gateway, etc.). Sensors 104 can monitor communications to and from the component, report on environmental data related to the component (e.g., component IDs, statuses, etc.), and perform actions related to the component (e.g., shut down a process, block ports, redirect traffic, etc.). Sensors 104 can send their records over a high-bandwidth connection to the collectors 122 for storage.

Sensors 104 can comprise software codes (e.g., running on virtual machine 106, container 112, or hypervisor 108), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC 110, e.g., a component of a switch, gateway, router, or standalone packet monitor), or an independent unit (e.g., a device connected to a switch's monitoring port or a device connected in series along a main trunk of a datacenter). For clarity and simplicity in this description, the term “component” is used to denote a component of the network (i.e., a process, module, slice, blade, hypervisor, machine, switch, router, gateway, etc.). It should be understood that various software and hardware configurations can be used as sensors 104. Sensors 104 can be lightweight, minimally impeding normal traffic and compute resources in a datacenter. Software sensors 104 can “sniff” packets being sent over its host network interface card (NIC) or individual processes can be configured to report traffic to sensors 104.

According to some embodiments, sensors 104 reside on every virtual machine, hypervisor, switch, etc. This layered sensor structure allows for granular packet statistics and data collection at each hop of data transmission. In some embodiments, sensors 104 are not installed in certain places. For example, in a shared hosting environment, customers may have exclusive control of VMs, thus preventing network administrators from installing a sensor on those client-specific VMs.

As sensors 104 capture communications, they can continuously send network flow data to collectors 122. The network flow data can relate to a packet, collection of packets, flow, group of flows, open ports, port knocks, etc. The network flow data can also include other details such as the VM bios ID, sensor ID, associated process ID, associated process name, process user name, sensor private key, geo-location of sensor, environmental details, etc. The network flow data can comprise data describing the communication on all layers of the OSI model. For example, the network flow data can include Ethernet signal strength, source/destination MAC address, source/destination IP address, protocol, port number, encryption data, requesting process, a sample packet, etc.

Sensors 104 can preprocess network flow data before sending. For example, sensors 104 can remove extraneous or duplicative data or create a summary of the data (e.g., latency, packets and bytes sent per traffic flow, flagging abnormal activity, etc.). According to some embodiments, sensors 104 are configured to selectively capture certain types of connection information while disregarding the rest. Further, as it can be overwhelming for a system to capture every packet, sensors can be configured to capture only a representative sample of packets (for example, every 1,000th packet). According to some embodiments, sensors 104 can generate aggregate network flow data that has been subjected to processing, rendering it light-weighted for subsequent transmitting and processing.

According to some embodiments, sensors 104 can perform various actions with regard to the associated network component. For example, a sensor installed on a VM can close, quarantine, restart, or throttle a process executing on the VM. Sensors 104 can create and enforce policies (e.g., block access to ports, protocols, or addresses). According to some embodiments, sensors 104 receive instructions to perform such actions; alternatively, sensors 104 can act autonomously without external direction.

Sensors 104 can send network flow data to one or more collectors 122. Sensors 104 can be assigned to send network flow data to a primary collector and a secondary collector. In some embodiments, sensors 104 are not assigned a collector, but determine an optimal collector through a discovery process. Sensors 104 can change a destination for the report if its environment changes. For example, if a certain collector experiences failure or if a sensor is migrated to a new location that is close to a different collector. According to some embodiments, sensors 104 send different network flow data to different collectors. For example, sensors 104 can send a first report related to one type of process to a first collector, and send a second report related to another type of process to a second collector.

Collectors 122 can be any type of storage medium that can serve as a repository for the data recorded by the sensors. According to some embodiments, collectors 122 are directly connected to the top of rack (TOR) switch; alternatively, collectors 122 can be located near the end of row or elsewhere on or off premises. The placement of collectors 122 can be optimized according to various priorities such as network capacity, cost, and system responsiveness. According to some embodiments, data storage of collectors 122 is located in an in-memory database such as dash DB by IBM. This approach benefits from rapid random access speeds that typically are required for analytics software. Alternatively, collectors 122 can utilize solid state drives, disk drives, magnetic tape drives, or a combination of the foregoing according to cost, responsiveness, and size requirements. Collectors 122 can utilize various database structures such as a normalized relational database or NoSQL database.

According to some embodiments, collectors 122 serve as network storage for network information mapping system 100. Additionally, collectors 122 can organize, summarize, and preprocess the collected data. For example, collectors 122 can tabulate how often packets of certain sizes or types are transmitted from different virtual machines. Collectors 122 can also characterize the traffic flows going to and from various network components. According to some embodiments, collectors 122 can match packets based on sequence numbers, thus identifying traffic flows as well as connection links.

According to some embodiments, collectors 122 flag anomalous data. Because it would be inefficient to retain all data indefinitely, collectors 122 can routinely replace detailed network flow data with consolidated summaries. In this manner, collectors 122 can retain a complete dataset describing one period (e.g., the past minute), with a smaller report of another period (e.g., the previous), and progressively consolidated network flow data of other times (day, week, month, year, etc.). By organizing, summarizing, and preprocessing the data, collectors 122 can help network information mapping system 100 scale efficiently. Although collectors 122 are generally herein referred to as a plural noun, a single machine or cluster of machines are contemplated to be sufficient, especially for smaller datacenters. In some embodiments, collectors 122 serve as sensors 104 as well.

According to some embodiments, in addition to data from sensors 104, collectors 122 can receive other types of data. For example, collectors 122 can receive out-of-band data 114 that includes, for example, geolocation data 116, IP watch lists 118, and WhoIs data 120. Additional out-of-band data can include power status, temperature data, etc.

Configuration/image manager 102 can configure and manage sensors 104. When a new virtual machine is instantiated or when an existing one is migrated, configuration and image manager 102 can provision and configure a new sensor on the machine. In some embodiments configuration and image manager 102 can monitor the health of sensors 104. For example, configuration and image manager 102 might request status updates or initiate tests. In some embodiments, configuration and image manager 102 also manages and provisions virtual machines.

Analytics module 124 can, via a high bandwidth connection, process the data stored in various collectors 122. Analytics module 124 can accomplish various tasks in its analysis, some of which are herein disclosed. According to some embodiments, network information mapping system 100 can utilize analytics module 124 to automatically determine network topology. Using data provided from sensors 104, analytics module 124 can determine what type of devices exist on the network (brand and model of switches, gateways, machines, etc.), where they are physically located (e.g., latitude and longitude, building, datacenter, room, row, rack, machine, etc.), how they are interconnected (10 Gb Ethernet, fiber-optic, etc.), and what the strength of each connection is (bandwidth, latency, etc.). Automatically determining the network topology can facilitate integrating of network information mapping system 100 within an already established datacenter. Furthermore, analytics module 124 can detect changes of network topology without the needed of further configuration.

Analytics module 124 can determine dependencies of components within the network. For example, if component A routinely sends data to component B, but component B never sends data to component A, then analytics module 124 can determine that component B is dependent on component A, but A is likely not dependent on component B. If, however, component B also sends data to component A, then they are likely interdependent. These components can be processes, virtual machines, hypervisors, VLANs, etc. Once analytics module 124 has determined component dependencies, it can then form a component (“application”) dependency map. This map can be instructive when analytics module 124 attempts to determine the root cause of a failure (because failure of one component can cascade and cause failure of its dependent components) or when analytics module 124 attempts to predict what will happen if a component is taken offline. Additionally, analytics module 124 can associate edges of an application dependency map with expected latency, bandwidth, etc. for that individual edge.

By analyzing regular network flow data or aggregate network flow data, analytics module 124 can determine node attributes that can represent at least one portion of distinctive process data or network. According to some embodiments, node attributes can be used to summarize features of one or more nodes. For example, node attributes can represent distinctive process data detailing the processes executing on a selected node. Node attributes can also represente distinctive network data describing the network devices in communication with the selected node. Attribute module 126 can be any type of storage medium that can serve as a repository for storing node attributes, which comprise distinctive process data or distinctive network data.

A node can be associated with one or more vector types, i.e. vectors extracted from network communications and/or process-based features. For example, a tfidf computation, or another information retrieval computation, can be configured to determine node attributes of one node. Similarly, a tfidf computation can be configured to determine attributes of node clusters, wherein each cluster can be represented by a single vector, which can be subjected to additional tfidf post processing.

For example, analytics module 124 can establish patterns and norms for component behavior. Analytics module 124 can determine that certain processes (when functioning normally) will only send a certain amount of traffic to a certain VM using a small set of ports. Analytics module 124 can establish these norms by analyzing individual components or by analyzing data coming from similar components (e.g., VMs with similar configurations). Similarly, analytics module 124 can determine expectations for network operations. For example, it can determine the expected latency between two components, the expected throughput of a component, response times of a component, typical packet sizes, traffic flow signatures, etc. In some embodiments, analytics module 124 can combine its dependency map with pattern analysis to create reaction expectations. For example, if traffic increases with one component, other components may predictably increase traffic in response (or latency, compute time, etc.).

According to some embodiments, analytics module 124 can determine a priority order of node attributes based on the distinctive process data and the distinctive network data. For example, multiple distinctive processes executing on a node can be ranked and displayed in a descendent order on a user interface. Additionally, the percentiled weight of the processes can also be displayed.

According to some embodiments, analytics module 124 can, based on the node attributes, determine similarity scores for the nodes, which indicate similarity levels among the plurality of nodes. Presentation module 128 can display the similarity scores on a user interface. Further, the system can generate node clusters based on the similarity levels of the node, e.g. nodes sharing a high similarity score (e.g., higher than a selected threshold) are associated with one node cluster.

According to some embodiments, analytics module 124 can determine one or more cluster attributes of a plurality of node clusters, the cluster attributes representing at least one portion of cluster distinctive process data or cluster distinctive network data. For example, a cluster attribute score can be the number of cluster members that have an attribute (“term frequency”) divided by the log of the number of clusters (“inverse document frequency”). Analytics module 124 can further determine a priority order of the cluster attributes based at least on one of the cluster distinctive process data and the cluster distinctive network data and display the cluster attributes in the priority order.

Presentation module 128 can comprise serving layer 129 and user interface (UI) 130 that is operable to display, for example, cluster information 132, node information 134, and revision information 136. As analytics module 124 analyzes the aggregate network flow data, they may not be in a human-readable form or they may be too large for an administrator to navigate. Presentation module 128 can take the network flow data generated by analytics module 124 and further summarize, filter, and organize the network flow data as well as create intuitive presentations of the network flow data.

Serving layer 129 can be the interface between presentation module 128 and analytics module 124. As analytics module 124 generates node attributes, serving layer 129 can summarize, filter, and organize the attributes that comes from analytics module 124. According to some embodiments, serving layer 129 can request raw data from a sensor, collector, or analytics module 124.

UI 130 can connect with serving layer 129 to present the data in a page for human presentation. For example, UI 130 can present the data, including cluster information 132, node information 134 and revision information 136, in bar charts, core charts, tree maps, acyclic dependency maps, line graphs, tables, etc. UI 130 can be configured to allow a user to “drill down” on information sets to get a filtered data representation specific to the item the user wishes to “drill down” to. For example, individual traffic flows, components, etc. UI 130 can also be configured to allow a user to filter by search. This search filter can use natural language processing to determine analyze the network administrator's input. There can be options to view data relative to the current second, minute, hour, day, etc. UI 130 can allow a network administrator to view traffic flows, application dependency maps, network topology, etc.

According to some embodiments, UI 130 is solely configured to present information. According to some embodiments, UI 130 can receive inputs from a network administrator to configure network information mapping system 100 or components of the datacenter. These instructions can be passed through serving layer 129, sent to configuration/image manager 102, or sent to attribute module 126.

Additionally, the various elements of network information mapping system 100 can exist in various configurations. For example, collectors 122 can be a component of sensors 104. In some embodiments, additional elements can share certain portion of computation to ease the load of analytics module 124.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a network information mapping system 200 adopting a leaf-spine architecture, according to some embodiments. Network fabric 201 can include spine switches 202 _(a), 202 _(b), . . . , 202 _(n) (collectively, “202”) connected to leaf switches 204 _(a), 204 _(b), 204 _(c), . . . , 204 _(n) (collectively “204”). Leaf switches 204 can include access ports (or non-fabric ports) and fabric ports. Fabric ports can provide uplinks to the spine switches 202, while access ports can provide connectivity for devices, hosts, end points, VMs, or external networks to network fabric 201. Although a leaf-spine architecture is illustrated in network fabric 201, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the subject technology can be implemented based on any network fabric, including any data center or cloud network fabric. Indeed, other architectures, designs, infrastructures, and variations are contemplated herein.

Spine switches 202 can support various capabilities, such as 40 or 10 Gbps Ethernet speeds. Spine switches 202 can include one or more 40 Gigabit Ethernet ports, each of which can also be split to support other speeds. For example, a 40 Gigabit Ethernet port can be split into four 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports.

Leaf switches 204 can reside at the edge of network fabric 201, thus representing the physical network edge. According to some embodiments, the leaf switches 204 can be top-of-rack switches configured according to a top-of-rack architecture. According to some embodiments, the leaf switches 204 can be aggregation switches in any particular topology, such as end-of-row or middle-of-row topologies. The leaf switches 204 can also represent aggregation switches.

Leaf switches 204 can be responsible for routing and/or bridging the tenant packets and applying network policies. According to some embodiments, a leaf switch can perform one or more additional functions, such as implementing a mapping cache, sending packets to the proxy function when there is a miss in the cache, encapsulate packets, enforce ingress or egress policies, etc.

Network connectivity in network fabric 201 can flow through the leaf switches 204. For example, leaf switches 204 can provide servers, resources, endpoints, external networks, or VMs network access to network fabric 201. According to some embodiments, leaf switches 204 can connect one or more end point groups to network fabric 201 or any external networks. Each end point group can connect to network fabric 201 via one of leaf switches 204.

Endpoints 218 _(a)-218 _(d) (collectively “218”) can connect to network fabric 201 via leaf switches 204. For example, endpoints 218 _(a) and 218 _(b) can connect directly to leaf switch 204A. On the other hand, endpoints 218 and 218 _(d) can connect to leaf switch 204 _(b) via L1 network 208. Similarly, wide area network (WAN) 220 can connect to leaf switches 204 _(n) via L2 network 210.

Endpoints 218 can include any communication device or component, such as a node, computer, server, blade, hypervisor, virtual machine, container, process (e.g., running on a virtual machine), switch, router, gateway, etc. According to some embodiments, endpoints 218 can include a server, hypervisor, process, or switch configured with a VTEP functionality which connects an overlay network with network fabric 201. The overlay network can host physical devices, such as servers, applications, EPGs, virtual segments, virtual workloads, etc. In addition, endpoints 218 can host virtual workload(s), clusters, and applications or services, which can connect with network fabric 201 or any other device or network, including an external network. For example, one or more endpoints 218 can host, or connect to, a cluster of load balancers or an end point group of various applications.

Sensors 206 _(a)-206 _(h) (collectively “206) can be associated with each node and component of a data center (e.g., virtual machine, hypervisor, slice, blade, switch, router, gateway, etc.). As illustrated in FIG. 2, sensors 206 can be respectively associated with leaf switches 204 and endpoints 218. Sensors 206 can monitor communications to and from the component, report on environmental data related to the component (e.g., component IDs, statuses, etc.), and perform actions related to the component (e.g., shut down a process, block ports, redirect traffic, etc.). Sensors 206 can send these data to the collectors 212 for storage.

Sensors 206 can preprocess network flow data before sending. For example, sensors 206 can remove extraneous or duplicative data or create a summary of the data (e.g., latency, packets and bytes sent per traffic flow, flagging abnormal activity, etc.). According to some embodiments, sensors 206 are configured to selectively capture certain types of connection information while disregarding the rest. Further, as it can be overwhelming for a system to capture every packet, sensors can be configured to capture only a representative sample of packets (for example, every 1,000th packet).

According to some embodiments, sensors 206 can perform various actions with regard to the associated network component. For example, a sensor installed on a VM can close, quarantine, restart, or throttle a process executing on the VM. Sensors 206 can create and enforce security policies (e.g., block access to ports, protocols, or addresses). According to some embodiments, sensors 206 receive instructions to perform such actions; alternatively, sensors 104 can act autonomously without external direction.

Sensors 206 can send network flow data to one or more collectors 212. Sensors 206 can be assigned to send network flow data to a primary collector and a secondary collector. In some embodiments, sensors 206 are not assigned a collector, but determine an optimal collector through a discovery process. Sensors 206 can change a destination for the report if its environment changes. For example, if a certain collector experiences failure or if a sensor is migrated to a new location that is close to a different collector. According to some embodiments, sensors 206 send different network flow data to different collectors. For example, sensors 206 can send a first report related to one type of process to a first collector, and send a second report related to another type of process to a second collector.

Collectors 212 can be any type of storage medium that can serve as a repository for the data recorded by the sensors. Collectors 212 can be connected to network fabric 201 via one or more network interfaces. Collectors 212 can be located near the end of row or elsewhere on or off premises. The placement of collectors 212 can be optimized according to various priorities such as network capacity, cost, and system responsiveness. Although collectors 122 are generally herein referred to as a plural noun, a single machine or cluster of machines are contemplated to be sufficient, especially for smaller datacenters. In some embodiments, collectors 122 serve as sensors 202 as well.

According to some embodiments, collectors 212 serve as network storage for network flow data. Additionally, collectors 212 can organize, summarize, and preprocess the collected data. For example, collectors 212 can tabulate how often packets of certain sizes or types are transmitted from different virtual machines. Collectors 212 can also characterize the traffic flows going to and from various network components. According to some embodiments, collectors 212 can match packets based on sequence numbers, thus identifying traffic flows as well as connection links.

Analytics module 214 can process and analyze the data stored in various collectors 212 to perform various tasks. According to some embodiments, analytics module 214 can automatically determine network topology. Using data provided from sensors 202, analytics module 214 can determine what type of devices exist on the network (brand and model of switches, gateways, machines, etc.), where they are physically located (e.g., latitude and longitude, building, datacenter, room, row, rack, machine, etc.), how they are interconnected (10 Gb Ethernet, fiber-optic, etc.), and what the strength of each connection is (bandwidth, latency, etc.). Furthermore, analytics module 214 can detect changes of network topology without the needed of further configuration.

Analytics module 214 can determine dependencies of components within the network. For example, if component A routinely sends data to component B, but component B never sends data to component A, then analytics module 214 can determine that component B is dependent on component A, but A is likely not dependent on component B. If, however, component B also sends data to component A, then they are likely interdependent. These components can be processes, virtual machines, hypervisors, VLANs, etc. Using the determined component dependencies, analytics module 214 can then form a component (“application”) dependency map. This map can be instructive when analytics module 214 attempts to diagnose the root cause of a failure or when analytics module 214 attempts to predict what will happen if a proposed network security policy is implemented or an end point is added or taken offline. Additionally, analytics module 124 can associate edges of an application dependency map with expected latency, bandwidth, etc. for that individual edge.

By analyzing aggregate network flow data, analytics module analytics module 214 can determine node attributes that can represent at least one portion of distinctive process data or network. According to some embodiments, node attributes can be used to summarize features of one or more nodes. For example, node attributes can represent distinctive process data detailing the processes executing on a selected node. Node attributes can also represent distinctive network data describing the network devices in communication with the selected node. Attribute module 216 can be any type of storage medium that can serve as a repository for storing node attributes, which comprise distinctive process data or distinctive network data.

A node can be associated with one or more vector types, i.e. vectors extracted from network communications and/or process-based features. For example, a tfidf computation, or another information retrieval computation, can be configured to determine node attributes of one node. Similarly, a tfidf computation can be configured to determine attributes of node clusters, wherein each cluster can be represented by a single vector, which can be subjected to additional tfidf post processing. According to some embodiments, analytics module 214 can determine a priority order of node attributes based on the distinctive process data and the distinctive network data. For example, multiple distinctive processes executing on a node can be ranked and displayed in a descendent order on a user interface. Additionally, the percentiled weight of the processes can also be displayed.

According to some embodiments, analytics module 214 can determine a priority order of node attributes based on the distinctive process data and the distinctive network data. For example, multiple distinctive processes executing on a node can be ranked and displayed in a descendent order on a user interface. Additionally, the percentiled weight of the processes can also be displayed.

According to some embodiments, analytics module 214 can, based on the node attributes, determine similarity scores for the nodes, which indicate similarity levels among the plurality of nodes. Presentation module 222 can display the similarity scores on a user interface. Analytics module 214 can determine one or more nodes each having a similarity score higher than a specified threshold (e.g., a numeric value specified by the user or selected by the system), and display the one or more nodes on the user interface. Analytics module 214 can rank the one or more nodes according to its respective similarity score, for example, in a descending order of similarity.

Further, the system can generate node clusters based on the similarity levels of the node, e.g. nodes sharing a high similarity score (e.g., higher than a selected threshold) are associated with one node cluster. Attribute module 216 can store node attributes that should be maintained. For example, Attribute module 216 can store process data and network data related to endpoints 218.

According to some embodiments, the network information mapping system can enable re-runs of a component or application dependent mapping (ADM) to implement various adjustments to the system. For example, a system administrator can make one or more adjustments, e.g. editing the size of the clusters, changing data-capturing time, to optimize the system performance. Analytics module 214 can compare the re-run data with the original data to summarize the recent adjustments, e.g. by matching the clusters with a matching algorithm. Additionally, presentation module 222 can display the summary of the changes on a user interface. This feature can help the administrator or user to track the implemented changes, make necessary adjustments, and improve system performance.

According to some embodiments, after implementing the adjustments to the system, Analytics module 214 can determine updated node attributes for the related nodes, generate an updated priority order of these node attributes, and display the updated node attributes in the updated priority order.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a user interface 300 of a network information mapping system, according to some embodiments. User interface 300, related to endpoint 302, can include various network information, which includes host name 304, cluster 306, confidence 308, alternate cluster name 310, distinctive processes 312 and distinctive connections 322. It should be appreciated that the user interface in FIG. 3 is an example, and any other information sections may be included in FIG. 3.

Endpoint 302, which belongs to cluster 306 (“Pascal-*”), has a hostname 304 (“Pascal-2”). Confidence 308 indicates a level of confidence (“0.315”) to cluster endpoint 302 into cluster 306. Additionally, an alternate cluster 310 (“Pascal-*) is also listed as an alternate for cluster 306. Distinctive process data of endpoint 302 can be represented by distinctive processes 312.

For example, for endpoint 302, its distinctive processes include, descending from the highest rank, process 314 (*apache/user/sbin/heepd), process 316 (*druid java:io.druid.cli.main), and process 318 (*hbase/usr/java/jdkx/bin/java:org.apache.hadoop.hbase.master.HMaster). Similarly, distinctive network connection of endpoint 302 can be represented by distinctive connections 322. Endpoint 302's most distinctive connection is being a provider for node 324 (172.29.201.44-TCP port 4242); its second most distinctive connection is being a provider for node 326 (172.29.201.42-TCP port 4242); and its third most distinctive connection is being a client for node 328 (172.29.201.47-TCP port 8100 to 8102). Additionally, if necessary, an administrator can click on show more 320 and 330 to view more distinctive process data or network data.

FIG. 4 illustrates another example of a user interface 400 of a network information mapping system, according to some embodiments. User interface 400 illustrates a revision comparison showing an adjustment summary in the system, allowing the administrator to track previous changes and adjust them accordingly.

According to some embodiments, the network information mapping system can enable re-runs or revision of an application dependent mapping (ADM) to implement various adjustments to the system. For example, a system administrator can make one or more adjustments, e.g. editing the size of the clusters, changing data-capturing time, to optimize the system performance. This feature can help the administrator or user to track the implemented changes, make necessary adjustments, and improve system performance.

For example, to compare base revision 4 and revision 7, cluster statistics 402 shows that 1 cluster is added, 5 clusters are removed, 2 existing clusters are modified, and 13 clusters remain unchanged; Endpoint statistics 404 indicates that 0 endpoint is added or removed, 10 existing endpoints are modified, and 82 endpoints remain unchanged. Further, endpoint 408 (build-centos5), in connection with endpoint “staging-hyper”, has one endpoint removed. Additionally, if necessary, an administrator can click on show more 410 to view more connection data.

Additionally, user interface 400 includes a search 406 to allow an administrator to “drill down” on information sets to get a filtered data representation. This search filter can use natural language processing to determine analyze the administrator's input. There can be options to view data relative to the current second, minute, hour, day, etc.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a process for a network information mapping system, according to some embodiments. It should be understood that there can be additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, within the scope of the various embodiments unless otherwise stated.

At step 502, a network information mapping system (e.g., network information mapping system 200 of FIG. 2) can receive aggregate network flow data using a plurality of sensors. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the network 200 can receive data packets sent from the first endpoint group associated with EP 218 _(a) and destined for the second endpoint group associated with EP 218 _(d).

At step 504, the network information mapping system can determine node attributes associated with a plurality of nodes of the network, the node attributes representing at least one portion of distinctive process data or distinctive network data. For example, by analyzing aggregate network flow data, analytics module analytics module 214 can determine node attributes that can represent at least one portion of distinctive process data or network. According to some embodiments, node attributes can be used to summarize features of one or more nodes. For example, node attributes can represent distinctive process data detailing the processes executing on a selected node. Node attributes can also represent distinctive network data describing the network devices in communication with the selected node.

At step 506, the network information mapping system can determine a priority order of node attributes based at least on one of the distinctive process data and the distinctive network data. For example, analytics module 214 can determine a priority order of node attributes based on the distinctive process data and the distinctive network data. For example, multiple distinctive processes executing on a node can be ranked and displayed in a descendent order on a user interface.

At step 508, the network information mapping system can display, on a user interface, the node attributes in the priority order. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, distinctive process data of endpoint 302 can be represented by distinctive processes 312. For endpoint 302, its distinctive processes include, descending from the highest rank, process 314 (*apache/user/sbin/heepd), process 316 (*druid java:io.druid.cli.main), and process 318 (*hbase/usr/java/jdkx/bin/java:org.apache.hadoop.hbase.master.HMaster). Similarly, distinctive network connection of endpoint 302 can be represented by distinctive connections 322.

FIG. 6 is another flow diagram illustrating an example of another process for a network information mapping system, according to some embodiments. It should be understood that there can be additional, fewer, or alternative steps performed in similar or alternative orders, or in parallel, within the scope of the various embodiments unless otherwise stated.

At step 602, network information mapping system 600 can receive aggregate network flow data using a plurality of sensors associated with a network. The plurality of sensors includes at least a first sensor of a physical switch of the network, a second sensor of a hypervisor associated with the physical switch, a third sensor of a virtual machine associated with the hypervisor. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, Sensors 206 can be associated with various nodes and components of a data center (e.g., virtual machine, hypervisor, slice, blade, switch, router, gateway, etc.). Sensors 206 can be respectively associated leaf switches, hypervisors, and virtual machines. Sensors 206 can monitor communications to and from the component, report on environmental data related to the component (e.g., component IDs, statuses, etc.), and perform actions related to the component (e.g., shut down a process, block ports, redirect traffic, etc.).

At step 604, network information mapping system 600 can determine node attributes associated with each of the plurality of nodes, the node attributes representing at least one portion of distinctive process data or distinctive network data. For example, by analyzing aggregate network flow data, analytics module analytics module 214 can determine node attributes that can represent at least one portion of distinctive process data or network.

At step 606, network information mapping system 600 can receive one or more adjustments to the aggregate network flow data. For example, According to some embodiments, the network information mapping system can enable revision of an application dependent mapping (ADM) to implement various adjustments to the system. For example, a system administrator can make one or more adjustments, e.g. editing the size of the clusters, changing data-capturing time, to optimize the system performance.

At step 606, network information mapping system 600 can determine updated node attributes associated with each of the plurality of nodes. For example, after implementing the adjustments to the system, analytics module 214 can determine updated node attributes for the related nodes.

At step 610, network information mapping system 600 can generate an updated priority order of node attributes based at least on the updated distinctive process data and the updated distinctive network data. For example, analytics module 214 can change the priority order of the node attributes based on the adjustments to the system, e.g. removing of a endpoint.

At step 610, network information mapping system 600 can display, on the user interface, the updated node attributes in the updated priority order. For example, in FIG. 3, distinctive processes 312 can show that process 316 has become the most distinctive/active process executing on endpoint 302.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a computing platform of a computing device, according to some embodiments. FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B illustrate example system embodiments. The more appropriate embodiment will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when practicing the present technology. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will also readily appreciate that other system embodiments are possible.

FIG. 7A illustrates a conventional system bus computing system architecture 700 wherein the components of the system are in electrical communication with each other using a bus 705. Example system 700 includes a processing unit (CPU or processor) 710 and a system bus 705 that couples various system components including the system memory 715, such as read only memory (ROM) 720 and random access memory (RAM) 725, to the processor 710. The system 700 can include a cache of high-speed memory connected directly with, in close proximity to, or integrated as part of the processor 710. The system 700 can copy data from the memory 715 and/or the storage device 730 to the cache 712 for quick access by the processor 710. In this way, the cache can provide a performance boost that avoids processor 710 delays while waiting for data. These and other modules can control or be configured to control the processor 710 to perform various actions. Other system memory 715 may be available for use as well. The memory 715 can include multiple different types of memory with different performance characteristics. The processor 710 can include any general purpose processor and a hardware module or software module, such as module 1 732, module 2 734, and module 3 736 stored in storage device 730, configured to control the processor 710 as well as a special-purpose processor where software instructions are incorporated into the actual processor design. The processor 710 may essentially be a completely self-contained computing system, containing multiple cores or processors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-core processor may be symmetric or asymmetric.

To enable user interaction with the computing device 700, an input device 745 can represent any number of input mechanisms, such as a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. An output device 735 can also be one or more of a number of output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. In some instances, multimodal systems can enable a user to provide multiple types of input to communicate with the computing device 700. The communications interface 740 can generally govern and manage the user input and system output. There is no restriction on operating on any particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic features here may easily be substituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they are developed.

Storage device 730 is a non-volatile memory and can be a hard disk or other types of computer readable media which can store data that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, solid state memory devices, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random access memories (RAMs) 725, read only memory (ROM) 720, and hybrids thereof.

The storage device 730 can include software modules 732, 734, 736 for controlling the processor 710. Other hardware or software modules are contemplated. The storage device 730 can be connected to the system bus 705. In one aspect, a hardware module that performs a particular function can include the software component stored in a computer-readable medium in connection with the necessary hardware components, such as the processor 710, bus 705, output device 735, and so forth, to carry out the function.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example computer system 750 having a chipset architecture that can be used in executing the described method and generating and displaying a graphical user interface (GUI). Computer system 750 is an example of computer hardware, software, and firmware that can be used to implement the disclosed technology. System 750 can include a processor 755, representative of any number of physically and/or logically distinct resources capable of executing software, firmware, and hardware configured to perform identified computations. Processor 755 can communicate with a chipset 760 that can control input to and output from processor 755. In this example, chipset 760 outputs information to output 765, such as a display, and can read and write information to storage device 770, which can include magnetic media, and solid state media, for example. Chipset 760 can also read data from and write data to RAM 775. A bridge 780 for interfacing with a variety of user interface components 785 can be provided for interfacing with chipset 760. Such user interface components 785 can include a keyboard, a microphone, touch detection and processing circuitry, a pointing device, such as a mouse, and so on. In general, inputs to system 750 can come from any of a variety of sources, machine generated and/or human generated.

Chipset 760 can also interface with one or more communication interfaces 790 that can have different physical interfaces. Such communication interfaces can include interfaces for wired and wireless local area networks, for broadband wireless networks, as well as personal area networks. Some applications of the methods for generating, displaying, and using the GUI disclosed herein can include receiving ordered datasets over the physical interface or be generated by the machine itself by processor 755 analyzing data stored in storage 770 or 775. Further, the machine can receive inputs from a user via user interface components 785 and execute appropriate functions, such as browsing functions by interpreting these inputs using processor 755.

It can be appreciated that example systems 700 and 750 can have more than one processor 710 or be part of a group or cluster of computing devices networked together to provide greater processing capability.

For clarity of explanation, in some instances the present technology may be presented as including individual functional blocks including functional blocks comprising devices, device components, steps or routines in a method embodied in software, or combinations of hardware and software.

In some embodiments the computer-readable storage devices, mediums, and memories can include a cable or wireless signal containing a bit stream and the like. However, when mentioned, non-transitory computer-readable storage media expressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.

Methods according to the above-described examples can be implemented using computer-executable instructions that are stored or otherwise available from computer readable media. Such instructions can comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause or otherwise configure a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function or group of functions. Portions of computer resources used can be accessible over a network. The computer executable instructions may be, for example, binaries, intermediate format instructions such as assembly language, firmware, or source code. Examples of computer-readable media that may be used to store instructions, information used, and/or information created during methods according to described examples include magnetic or optical disks, flash memory, USB devices provided with non-volatile memory, networked storage devices, and so on.

Devices implementing methods according to these disclosures can comprise hardware, firmware and/or software, and can take any of a variety of form factors. Typical examples of such form factors include laptops, smart phones, small form factor personal computers, personal digital assistants, rackmount devices, standalone devices, and so on. Functionality described herein also can be embodied in peripherals or add-in cards. Such functionality can also be implemented on a circuit board among different chips or different processes executing in a single device, by way of further example.

The instructions, media for conveying such instructions, computing resources for executing them, and other structures for supporting such computing resources are means for providing the functions described in these disclosures.

Although a variety of examples and other information was used to explain aspects within the scope of the appended claims, no limitation of the claims should be implied based on particular features or arrangements in such examples, as one of ordinary skill would be able to use these examples to derive a wide variety of implementations. Further and although some subject matter may have been described in language specific to examples of structural features and/or method steps, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to these described features or acts. For example, such functionality can be distributed differently or performed in components other than those identified herein. Rather, the described features and steps are disclosed as examples of components of systems and methods within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, claim language reciting “at least one of” a set indicates that one member of the set or multiple members of the set satisfy the claim. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving aggregate network flow data using a plurality of sensors associated with a network; determining node attributes associated with a plurality of nodes of the network, the node attributes representing at least one portion of distinctive process data or distinctive network data; determining a priority order of the node attributes based at least on one of the distinctive process data and the distinctive network data; and displaying, on a user interface, the node attributes in the priority order.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of sensors include at least a first sensor of a physical switch of the network, a second sensor of a hypervisor associated with the physical switch, a third sensor of a virtual machine associated with the hypervisor.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a respective similarity score for each of the plurality of nodes based on the node attributes, the respective similarity score indicating a similarity level among the plurality of nodes; determining one or more nodes each having the respective similarity score higher than a threshold displaying the one or more nodes and the respective similarity score on the user interface.
 4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: ranking the one or more nodes based at least in part on the respective similarity score in a descending order; and displaying the one or more nodes in the descending order on the user interface.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising: generating one or more node clusters based at least in part on the similarity level of the respective similarity score.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: determining one or more cluster attributes of the one or more node clusters, the cluster attributes representing at least one portion of cluster distinctive process data or cluster distinctive network data; determining a priority order of the cluster attributes based at least on one of the cluster distinctive process data and the cluster distinctive network data; and displaying, on the user interface, the one or more cluster attributes in the priority order.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, based at least in part on the aggregate network flow data, a first dependency map executing in the network, the first dependency map indicating a pattern of network traffic.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: receiving one or more adjustments to the aggregate network flow data; determining updated node attributes associated with each of the plurality of nodes; generating an updated priority order of node attributes based at least on updated distinctive process data and updated distinctive network data; and displaying, on the user interface, the updated node attributes in the updated priority order.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining, based at least in part on adjusted aggregate network flow data, a second dependency map executing in the network; and comparing the second dependency map to the first dependency map to generate a summary of the one or more adjustments including changing the number of nodes in a node cluster.
 10. A system comprising: one or more processors; and memory including instructions that, upon being executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to: receive network flow data using a plurality of sensors associated with a network; determine node attributes associated with a plurality of nodes, the node attributes representing at least one portion of distinctive process data or distinctive network data; determine a respective similarity score for each of the plurality of nodes based on the node attributes, the respective similarity score indicating a similarity level among the plurality of nodes; and display the respective similarity score on the user interface.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the instructions upon being executed further cause the system to: generate one or more node clusters based at least in part on the similarity level of the respective similarity score.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the plurality of sensors are configured to preprocess the network flow data before sending.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the instructions upon being executed further cause the system to: determine, based at least in part on the network flow data, an application dependency map executing in the network.
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the instructions upon being executed further cause the system to: receive one or more adjustments to the network flow data; determine updated node attributes associated with each of the plurality of nodes; regenerate an updated priority order of node attributes based at least on updated distinctive process data and updated distinctive network data; and display, on the user interface, the updated node attributes in the updated priority order.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions that, upon being executed by a processor, cause the processor to: receive aggregate network flow data using a plurality of sensors associated with a network; determine node attributes associated with each of the plurality of nodes, the node attributes representing at least one portion of distinctive process data or distinctive network data; receive one or more adjustments to the aggregate network flow data; determine updated node attributes associated with each of the plurality of nodes; generate an updated priority order of node attributes based at least on updated distinctive process data and updated distinctive network data; and display, on a user interface, the updated node attributes in the updated priority order.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions upon being executed further cause the processor to: determine, based at least in part on the aggregate network flow data, a first dependency map executing in the network, the first dependency map indicating a pattern of network traffic; determine, based at least in part on the adjusted aggregate network flow data, a second dependency map executing in the network; and compare the second dependency map to the first dependency map to generate a summary of the one or more adjustments.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions upon being executed further cause the processor to: determine a respective similarity score for each of the plurality of nodes based on the node attributes, the respective similarity score indicating a similarity level among the plurality of nodes; and display the respective similarity score on the user interface.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the instructions upon being executed further cause the processor to: generate one or more node clusters based at least in part on the similarity level of the respective similarity score.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of sensors include at least a first sensor of a physical switch of the network, a second sensor of a hypervisor associated with the physical switch, a third sensor of a virtual machine associated with the hypervisor.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions upon being executed further cause the processor to: determine, based at least in part on the aggregate network flow data, an application dependency map executing in the network. 